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Yet some of it has endured, like embers still smouldering under the surface. It is that very spirit that one can sense, and connect with, from the very first bars of ‘Hollowman’, the new single by Chicago-based outfit Sleeps While Walking, a song that deals with very similar themes yet filters them through a starkly contemporary viewpoint.
The raging at one’s powerlessness – hollowness, one might say, echoing the title – is the same, but the perspective is one of urban isolation, the loss of connection that increasingly feels like a plague of the post-pandemic world, the constant search for a meaning that has become less and less apparent in a world dominated by post-truths.
Musically, the track does an excellent job of capturing through sound the haunting mood evoked by the lyrics. The grunge element comes through most strongly with the guitars, which are rough and dirty and with a considerable bite; there is something in the way they provide a murky backdrop to the overall structure of the track, giving it both energy and depth, that is adjacent to garage rock and even pop-punk in places. The same kind of intensity, perhaps amplified even further, comes through from the rhythm section, especially the treatment of bass lines, which, once again, owes more than a little to the pop-punk scene – something that is perhaps not altogether unsurprising from a Chicago band. It might seem like an unlikely element to graft a piano line onto, and yet it works – the dissonance it generates is a further mirror to the feelings it is trying to capture. Most of all, however, what lingers in the mind after the last bars have faded is the vocals – the somewhat flat affect is curated and very effective in conveying the alienation of the titular figure. More than Nirvana, the sound overall is reminiscent of later Incubus, but with more of a love of synth leading into a proper foray into alt-rock territory. Compared to the band’s prior offerings, there is a clear sense of growth through experimentation.
The single is a prefiguration of a soon-to-come second EP which promises to be very interesting indeed: not just musically – although this track alone shows that the band have a very high level of comfort in experimenting with different sonorities, which is something that has perhaps been missing from this particular brand of rock music and which could breathe new life into it; but most of all thematically. In the mood it evokes and the images it paints, this is a track that feels like it is deeply in touch with the zeitgeist, and there is no doubt that many, listening to it, will relate. The needle of relatability has increasingly been pointing in the direction of pop or post-punk in recent years, so it is very interesting to see it swinging back, here, towards a more classic, more melodic rock form, and do so with a track that feels remarkably contemporary. Add a clear flair for storytelling through music, and the foundations have clearly been laid for a project which may prove to be a compelling snapshot of the times we live in, seen from a lesser explored perspective.
Chiara Strazzulla
Image: 'Hollowman' Official Single Cover
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